I stop on my way out. “It better be.”
Erin, on the other hand, does not share my same enthusiasm.
“Why would I want to go to Oktoberfest?” she asks, pulling a brush through her hair.
I’m standing over her, barely able to control my excitement. It’s been a long time since I did anything just for fun. Lately I’ve been so distracted—maybe I need a little break, something to help me reset so I can dive back in when we get back.
“Why wouldn’t you?” I counter. I plop onto my bed and Cleaver rests his head on my stomach. I scratch his ears and his tail thumps loudly on the bed. “Sounds fun, even without Sawyer.”
On Erin’s bed, Luiza is sitting cross-legged, polishing the blade of a sword. “I went my second year,” she says. “It was fun. I actually might have business in Munich,” she adds thoughtfully. “So I might be able to go.”
Erin hesitates. I can see she’s considering it.
“What business would you have in Munich?” she asks.
“A small hunt. Nothing major, mi cantante—It wouldn’t take away from my time with you,” Luiza purrs in response, looking up from the sword and smirking at Erin.
Erin purses her lips and turns away from her. “Maybe we could get a different room.”
“Not likely,” Luiza counters before I have a chance to. “Do you know how many people go to Oktoberfest every year? Everything even remotely near Munich will be booked up. I’m not sure what Sawyer and Avery plan on getting up to,” she adds, casting a dark look my way, “but that hostel may be our only choice.”
There’s a long moment of silence, punctuated by the sounds of the brush sweeping down Erin’s hair. Finally, she sets it down and sighs.
“Ask if there’s room for Luiza,” she says, not looking at me. “If there is, I’ll go.”
“It’s settled then,” I say with a grin, and Cleaver turns his head to lick my hand. “Oktoberfest—here we come.”
Chapter Nine
I should be apprehensive at best, but I’m positively giddy with anticipation for Oktoberfest.
I had no idea how much I needed this, but I’ve never been so anxious for classes to be over. After another week or so, the day finally comes.
Class lets out on Friday and I run to my dorm to get my backpack. Animals aren’t allowed at our hostel, so I take Cleaver to Professor Helsing, who promises to look after him while we’re gone.
“Be safe,” he grunts at both me and Erin as we leave his office.
“Be good,” I say to Cleaver, but he’s growling at Helsing again. I crouch down and try putting one hand on either side of my hound’s face. “What’s wrong boy? This isn’t like you.”
He quiets down as he looks up into my eyes, his uneasy growls turn into happy tail wags. I pat him on the top of the head and straighten back up. He eyes Helsing warily, but doesn’t start growling again.
“Stupid dog,” Helsing mutters, which catches me off guard more than anything else. I tense up, but then Helsing sits back a bit, wipes at his face with his hand, and lets out a long, resigned sigh. “Sorry, he’s probably just mad you’re gonna be gone.”
I eye him a moment, and then just nod and head out. Even if he ends up a bit snappy, I know Cleaver is safe in his hands. Besides, Helsing has looked a little worse for wear lately, so I chalk his outburst up to that. The tan from his summer travels has started to fade, but it’s left a pallor in its wake. But since Erin doesn’t say anything, I don’t either.
We all get to the train station early, but Sawyer’s already there. I catch several other students from the school lingering nearby as well, the same anticipation matched on their faces. This is by far the busiest I’ve ever seen the village’s train station. The groups of Saint M students congregate all around the platform, chattering excitedly.
Sawyer isn’t the only face I recognize among the throng as we wait for the train.
Piers lingers beneath a platform sign with his own group, but not Bennett or Owen. He looks out of place here, alone without them. I find this a little strange but have no time to dwell on it as we board the train.
It’s a fairly long train ride to Cluj-Napoca, and then a two-hour flight to Munich. I make a conscious decision to not sit beside Sawyer. Instead, I sit with Erin and Luiza to keep my distance.
“So what’s your mini-hunt?” I ask Luiza after the plane takes off.
She looks at me like I’m crazy for a second, and then suddenly chokes out, “Oh! A British monster hunter was doing a presentation in Munich, and one of his brownies escaped.”
Erin nods, but I raise my eyebrows in disbelief. “They hired a monster hunter to find a brownie? They aren’t even dangerous.”